February 25, 2015 -
Charles and David Koch, who run the Koch Industries conglomerate and support a national network of conservative political groups, plan to spend close to $900 million on the 2016 elections -- and they're getting help from businesspeople in the South.

October 15, 2014 -
Baker Mitchell is a politically connected North Carolina businessman who celebrates the power of the free market. Every year, millions of public education dollars flow through Mitchell's chain of four nonprofit charter schools to for-profit companies he controls.

August 7, 2014 -
This week Gov. Pat McCrory announced that his budget director, conservative mega-donor and businessman Art Pope, will resign. The move frees Pope to resume leadership in the political influence machine he's built just in time for the fall elections.

July 11, 2014 -
Clean-energy advocates are battling Duke Energy's plan to cut payments to homeowners with grid-tied solar panels for the excess power they sell back to the company. Meanwhile, a major investment bank says the falling price of solar panels and battery storage could encourage large numbers of U.S. homeowners and businesses to abandon utilities altogether and go off-grid.

January 10, 2014 -
Art Pope and his well-funded political machine take credit for pushing North Carolina to the right when it serves their purposes -- and deny responsibility when thrust into the media spotlight.

December 13, 2013 -
Corporate interest advocacy groups including the controversial American Legislative Exchange Council made repealing North Carolina's renewable energy law a top priority last year. Their effort failed, but now ALEC is trying a different approach by taking aim at the solar boom.

December 2, 2013 -
This week, the North Carolina NAACP and other groups launched an informational picket at stores owned by North Carolina mega-donor and state budget director Art Pope -- highlighting the disconnect between who shops at Pope's stores and the agenda he promotes.

November 14, 2013 -
The State Policy Network -- a national alliance of right-wing think tanks funded by businessmen including the Kochs of Koch Industries, the Waltons of Wal-Mart, and Art Pope of Variety Stores -- is driving a corporate agenda in state legislatures. So why they aren't reporting their lobbying activities?